Quilts, comforters, pillow shams and the like frequently might be formed of layered fabric sheets that are stitched together along seams, to hold the sheets and any fill material therebetween positioned in place. The stitching can traverse the layered sheets over much of their exposed areas and moreover can be patterned to be attractive or decorative. Pillow shams might specifically be stitched around the periphery of the fabric layers, inwardly spaced from the outermost edges, for defining the characteristic peripheral flange.
Available stitching machines can form such seams, but the sheet layers most commonly must be manually loaded into or relative to the machine before the stitching can begin, and further commonly must be manually unloaded from the machine after stitching. Further, many currently available automatic handling systems for stitching machines have allowed sufficient shifting of the sheet layers prior to being stitched, that reduces the pattern accuracy and acceptance of the finished goods.